I am looking at updating my ride to a longer travel 29er (currently on Ripley LS). I've pretty much narrowed the options to a Ripmo or HTLT. The Ripmo looks great but has long wait times. Could just switch out my frame for the Hightower LT without the long delay.
If anyone has ridden both or either, can you comment on any dislikes or issues with the bike? The slacker seat tube on the HTLT doesn't look perfect, but my Ripley is 73 degrees STA and climbs just fine. I am wondering if the 76 degree STA on the Ripmo would be crappy for long rides and less steep grinder climbs (e.g., in CO - slate river road, boreas pass, rolling terrain at Hartman Rocks, etc.). The major complaint I see with the HTLT is poor small bump compliance/sensitivity due to the VPP suspension curve.
Basically, just wondering if folks have relatively unbiased feeback on either bike. In particular, trying to figure out if it is worth waiting until late fall or next season for the Ripmo due to some significant improvement over the HTLT. Not sure when SC will update the HTLT either. Most of the feedback on MTBR seems to suffer from confirmation bias or whatever you want to term it, where people are justifying their purchase on the manufacturer forum and saying its the greatest thing ever.
Thanks for any thoughts! Also, if anyone is interested in a Ripley LS XL frame or complete rig, might be selling...
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